Matthew Hooton
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Check out Matthew’s latest content
Matthew Hooton: Why Trump voters deserve respect
OPINION: Their culture, outlook and interests deserve to be taken seriously.
Matthew Hooton: US entering most dangerous period since 1861
OPINION: It was the Mexican peso that first indicated Trump was winning US election.
Matthew Hooton: Trump win would require NZ to double defence spending
OPINION: Nicola Willis will need to find another $5b a year to meet Trump’s demands.
Matthew Hooton: Why the America's Cup race shouldn't be held in New Zealand
OPINION: Grant Dalton has been proven right on pretty much everything.
Matthew Hooton: NZ First celebrates strongest position this century
OPINION: Labour voters and senior figures are being targeted to jump ship.
Matthew Hooton: The women who should be leading National and Labour
OPINION: Willis and Edmonds both show the substance today’s multiple crises demand,
Matthew Hooton: Money doesn’t buy happiness but debt buys misery
OPINION: Treasury is sounding the debt alarm - again. Will politicians listen?
Matthew Hooton: Act achieves total victory on Treaty bill
OPINION: David Seymour has out-negotiated Christopher Luxon at every turn.
Matthew Hooton: Act’s Treaty bill all about attacking Nats in 2026
OPINION: The Prime Minister faces crucial decisions as his party and country’s leader.
Matthew Hooton: New infrastructure plan needs Labour’s support
OPINION: Bishop’s plan will require National and Labour to compromise with each other.
Matthew Hooton: Poll no excuse for Labour complacency
OPINION: Without Chris Hipkins and Megan Woods, Labour would look renewed.
Matthew Hooton: Nicola Willis celebrates while bell tolls for Chris Hipkins
OPINION: Short-term, all the economic numbers point in the right electoral direction.
Matthew Hooton: Why Nicola Willis must prioritise social investment now
From prisons to profits: the moral and fiscal case for social investment.
Matthew Hooton: Kiwibank expansion plan deserves wide support
OPINION: Willis’ proposal honours Jim Anderton and Trevor Mallard’s vision.
Matthew Hooton: What I’d do if I was Finance Minister
OPINION: National Party conference delegates need to push for radical reform.
Matthew Hooton: Wellington bureaucracy faces criticism for intellectual timidity
OPINION: Ministers are frustrated that mandarins remain stuck in the do-nothing era.
Matthew Hooton: Economic outlook improves but Trump looms
OPINION: Should NZ continue our pro-Nato push if Trump plans to wreck it?
Matthew Hooton: Secret tax memo holds key to early interest-rate cut
OPINION: Willis should release memo she says shows that tax cuts aren't inflationary.
Matthew Hooton: How to tackle a much-needed major crime crackdown
OPINION: The new Government plan is a start, but no more.
Matthew Hooton: Chris Bishop's housing obsession - does he want to crash the economy?
OPINION: High immigration should keep a floor on the market.
Matthew Hooton: Household recession 18 months old with no end in sight
OPINION: Interest rate cuts may not happen until election year.
Matthew Hooton: NZ must mine its way out of economic ruin
OPINION: New Zealand has put itself on a path to bankruptcy since 2008.
Matthew Hooton: Care needed as Te Pāti Māori inquiries follow proper process
OPINION: Danger lies ahead if process appears politicised in any way.
Matthew Hooton: Debt set to explode under Nicola Willis
OPINION: The Budget isn’t one a serious Government would have presented.
Matthew Hooton: Here’s the big number to watch in next week's Budget
OPINION: Luxon lumbered Willis and National with a tax policy that was instantly panned.
Matthew Hooton: Greens need to move on from scandals
OPINION: A broad definition of sustainability offers the Greens a compelling theme.
Matthew Hooton: Labour needs a bolder leader than Hipkins
OPINION: As the Luxon Government fails, the Opposition needs someone who will step up.
Matthew Hooton: Can Act support a Budget that borrows more than Labour?
OPINION: Act is at risk of supporting a Govt that will never put the books back in order.
Matthew Hooton: All power to the Prime Minister's elbow
OPINION: Performance management for ministers could transform Government.
Matthew Hooton: Government’s savings programme half-hearted, poorly targeted
OPINION: With the dire need to cut costs, agencies should have to justify why they exist.
Matthew Hooton: Full-scale war in Europe and Asia now a real possibility
OPINION: New Zealanders need to engage more seriously in the risks ahead.
Matthew Hooton: Why NZ is doomed to a downhill spiral from 2030 unless we get on top of debt
OPINION: Argentina was one of the world's richest countries until it borrowed too much.
Matthew Hooton: China’s attack on New Zealand first since 1985
OPINION: Winston Peters has done more than anyone to ensure NZ has allies backing us.
Matthew Hooton: Winston Peters and NZ First in survival mode
OPINION: Winston Peters will not allow National to blow out the deficit and inflation.
Matthew Hooton: Government faces death by a thousand cuts
OPINION: Luxon’s approach might work in a corporate, but not in bureaucracy.
Matthew Hooton: Leaky Premier House and broken plane symbolise NZ’s decline
OPINION: Luxon's allowance fiasco is a metaphor for wider fiscal complacency.
Matthew Hooton: Who wins from doubling Auckland’s population again?
OPINION: Government suggests an Auckland of 3.4 million would be 15 per cent better off.
Matthew Hooton: No cash so Luxon needs new ways to generate growth
OPINION: Local initiatives rather than corporate welfare back in vogue.
Matthew Hooton: What Labour must do to reclaim its core support
OPINION: It can't afford to sit back and let the Coalition implode.
Matthew Hooton: How Luxon can clean up Treaty Principles Bill mess
OPINION: The PM has already ruled out controversial bill from becoming law.
Matthew Hooton: Time for Luxon to take charge
OPINION: The Prime Minister has yet to set the clear direction any government needs.
Matthew Hooton: National and Act fail the good-faith test over Treaty Principles Bill
OPINION: Christopher Luxon has described the bill as “divisive and unhelpful”.
Matthew Hooton: National faces its moment of choice - bold reform or do nothing?
OPINION: Luxon is now obliged to deliver.
Matthew Hooton: Helen Clark’s anti-Americanism on show
OPINION: Clark judged that all Washington’s friends, including NZ, ought to help.
Matthew Hooton: Apologies needed for Labour to be taken seriously
OPINION: But Labour’s best bet remains Hipkins and the status quo.
Matthew Hooton: Why education reforms will be the most important change this government makes
OPINION: Complete disengagement from school is growing and average performance is falling.
Matthew Hooton: Nicola Willis should aim for 25 per cent cuts to the public service
OPINION: This week’s $7.5b in cuts can only be phase one.
Matthew Hooton: Why New Zealand’s economy is performing so badly
OPINION: Sufficient progress in New Delhi is needed to justify irritating Beijing.
Matthew Hooton: This Government’s most important minister - it isn’t Luxon or Willis
OPINION: The National Party high-flyer is NZ's long-term productivity czar.
Matthew Hooton: Christopher Luxon sets ministers free to succeed or fail
OPINION: Opportunity is there for the PM to extend that laissez-faire management approach.
Matthew Hooton: Next six months key to Luxon's success
OPINION: Every day’s delay will only make it tougher to do what needs to be done.
Matthew Hooton: Whatever happened to those Luxon negotiating skills?
OPINION: Luxon's skills displayed in business haven't translated to political leadership.
Matthew Hooton: Luxon faces 3 risks as coalition of chaos looms
OPINION: And why Labour was right to stick with Chris Hipkins.
Matthew Hooton: Luxon’s best choice - focus on coalition relationships, not details
OPINION: And breaking down where the special votes might fall.
Matthew Hooton: Why I think Peters is unfit for office
OPINION: NZ First leader’s latest tweets mark a point of no return.
Matthew Hooton: Outline of coalition deal becoming clear
OPINION: Three parties agree on defence and crime — not so tax and the Treaty.
Why Luxon could lead NZ’s first genuine change government in a generation
OPINION: Never before have New Zealanders so decisively demanded a radical new direction.
Matthew Hooton: Brace yourself, National set to outdo Labour’s tragicomedy
OPINION: Captain Luxon's two bad calls.
Matthew Hooton: Businesses need to run their own show, ignore Wellington circus
OPINION: Businesspeople should spend less time waiting for help from Wellington.
Matthew Hooton: National plus the Greens? A teal deal is a real possibility
OPINION: Green Party strategists would be wise to plan their response when Luxon calls.
Matthew Hooton: Why National’s tax fantasy is dead
OPINION: National has no one to blame for its tax-policy fiasco but itself.
Matthew Hooton: Tax cuts? It’s spending cuts we need
OPINION: National will have to move fast and slash spending to head off a fiscal crisis.
Matthew Hooton: Minor parties gain as purple power fades
OPINION: Labour and National are sinking, so how about Seymour or Shaw for PM?
Matthew Hooton: National’s tax plan is a cynical con job
OPINION: Savings must be used to repay our growing debt, not to buy off voters.
Matthew Hooton: National would be insane to offer tax cuts in the next year
OPINION: Nicola Willis’ credibility is on the line as she finalises National’s tax policy.
Matthew Hooton: It's back to the past for Luxon and National - and how Peters helps
OPINION: Luxon's no John Key 2.0, but his campaign wins much better marks for nostalgia.
Matthew Hooton: Will Luxon rule out dealing with Peters?
OPINION: The polls show Winston Peters is back — and closer to power.
Matthew Hooton: Act will demand meaty roles, not morsels, in a coalition with National
OPINION: Act expects meaty portfolios for its senior ministers, rather than rats and mice.
Matthew Hooton: Hipkins must be kicking himself for not calling a snap election back in April
OPINION: And why a snap election back in February could have been Labour's best bet.
Matthew Hooton: Van Velden on track to make it two seats for Act in Auckland
OPINION: Act’s private polling in the Tāmaki electorate suggests a neck-and-neck race.
Matthew Hooton: Dawn raids failure a new low
OPINION: First there was KiwiBuild, then the failure to stop dawn raids after an apology.
Matthew Hooton: Forget about election bribes - this Govt has spent all the money
OPINION: In cash terms, the picture is horrifying, or even Muldoonist.
Matthew Hooton: Why this arrogant Government doesn’t deserve Hipkins
OPINION: Chris Hipkins has hardly put a foot wrong. The same can't be said of his MPs.
Matthew Hooton: Is David Seymour’s red tape ministry sheer genius? Yes, Minister
OPINION: Act leader knew he risked some ribbing for his proposed Ministry of Regulation.
Matthew Hooton: Labour's electorally lethal arrogance laid bare as scandals mount
OPINION: Government is displaying the arrogance that normally comes with a third term.
Matthew Hooton: Chris Hipkins’ image is fraying at the seams
OPINION: Could Labour's ECE call be worse than KiwiBuild?
Matthew Hooton: Labour's constitutional conundrum working with Te Pāti Māori
OPINION: Labour may need Te Pāti Māori, but at what cost to both sides?
Matthew Hooton: Robertson's Budget hits median voter sweet spot
Labour will borrow $21 billion more than it said before Christmas.
Matthew Hooton: Robertson gets one last roll of the dice with Budget
OPINION: Finance Minister knows next week’s Budget could decide the election.
Matthew Hooton: Blame MMP for delivering mediocrity, giving minor parties too much power
OPINION: It's time to blow the whistle on a failed quarter-century experiment.